SPRINGFIELD - Governor Pat Quinn today released the following statement regarding Illinois House passage of House Bill 2747. The bill, which the Governor has been working since February to enact, creates the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act to strengthen and streamline requirements for all state grants across all state agencies:

"This important legislation will reform grant procedures and strengthen oversight to make state grantees more accountable than ever before. The bill will make Illinois the first state in the nation to adopt a comprehensive and consistent set of rules covering the entire life cycle of a grant.

"Organizations receiving state funds must be held accountable for their work. This reform bill will ensure they are held to some of the nation's highest standards.

"I commend State Representatives Fred Crespo and Patti Bellock and Senators Pam Althoff and Dan Kotowski for their hard work to pass this reform legislation out of the General Assembly. I look forward to signing it."

The legislation was recommended by the Illinois Single Audit Commission, which Governor Quinn worked with legislators to create. The legislation also builds on a law the Governor signed in 2012 that strengthened grant procedures for human service agencies.

The bill's reforms include stronger state grant procedures to bring them all up to federal standards; improved conflict of interest disclosure requirements; and strict, real-time auditing of all state grants. The legislation, which will protect against grant mismanagement, has passed the Illinois Senate and now goes to the Governor's desk.